San Diego Workforce Partnership labor market analysis
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Labor market analyst, Dr. Daniel Enemark, from San Diego Workforce Partnership, assessed the positives and negatives of the latest jobs report.
San Diego’s labor market showed some signs of further progress in May, but some of the numbers were disappointing as the region waited for its ability to fully reopen on June 15, according to analysis.
The Workforce Partnership is pleased to see leisure & hospitality employment continue to grow, according to the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s Senior Economist, Daniel Enemark. “These sectors remain understaffed, with accommodations 11,000 workers short and food services & drinking places over 25,000 workers short of pre-pandemic employment. If you are looking for a job, you can start right away. These sectors are urgently seeking workers, with many employers offering higher wages, providing more flexible schedules, and requiring less or even no experience.”
California restaurants that managed to survive the pandemic are facing a new crisis: finding workers. With the economy officially reopened, owners are eager to fill dining rooms to full capacity but can’t find enough cooks, servers or kitchen staffers to do the job.
As a result, restaurants are being forced to cut operating hours or leave tables open. Jot Condie of the California Restaurant Association calls it a full-blown crisis. Restaurant owners and industry insiders blame several factors for the shortage.
They include extended federal jobless benefits that have allowed workers to stay home. Other employees moved out of state during the pandemic.
